TOSS THE SCRIPT 203
Now let’s put the five-step method into practice. I came
across an ad for Vanguard no-load mutual funds.^2 It showed two
glasses of water; the glass on the left contained a small amount
of water, and the glass on the right was completely full. The
headline read: “The lower the cost, the more you keep.” Ads
such as this one provide excellent examples of how to create
compelling visual slides. Assume the ad is one slide: Table 17.2
shows what a hypothetical script written with the five steps in
TABLE 17.2 APPLYING THE FIVE-STEP METHOD TO TOSSING
THE SCRIPT
STEP PRESENTATION SCRIPT
1 How much your investment costs is very important and could have
an impact on how much money you make over the long run. In
general, the lower the cost, the more you keep. Many investment
firms say they are low cost, but the fact is they charge six times
more than we do. This can cost you thousands of dollars. For
example, if you invest $10,000 for twenty years at an 8 percent
return, you would keep $58,000 more with our fund versus the
industry average.
2Your investment costs are very important and could have an impact
on how much money you make over the long run. In general, the
lower the cost, the more you keep. Many investment firms say they
are low cost, but the fact is they charge six times more than we do.
This can cost you thousands of dollars. For example, if you invest
$10,000 for twenty years at an 8 percent return, you would keep
$58,000 more with our fund versus the industry average.
3 Investment costs important
Lower the cost, the more you keep
Six times more
Keep $58,000 more
4 The lower the cost, the more you keep.
5 Rehearse presentation with no notes. The slide of two water
glasses—one empty, one full—should be enough to prompt you to
deliver the information: the four bullets in step 3.